Auto-repair coaster.



w. a. FOSTER. AUTO REPAIR COASTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, I916- Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

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ante-nar ate constrain retains,

fipecificat'lon of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 10, 1516. eerie 1 rte. 33326.

foall whom it may concern."

Be it known that l, Wittmat llosrnn, of Utica, in the county of @neida and State of New York, have invented certain. new and useful lmprovements in Auto-Repair tloasters; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theac companying drawings, and to the reference numerals marked thereon, which form part of this specification lily present invention relates to auto repair coasters as low'lying trucks are called when particularly adapted to support a workman beneath an automobile.

Ulhe purpose of my present invention is to provide an auto repair coaster of improved construction and one well adapted to conveniently serve for the purpose intended.

A further purpose is to provide a device of the character described which is relatively light in weight but very strongly made and which is especially convenient for the operator to use.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a coaster wherein the supporting platform or surface is yieldingly mounted upon the frame of the coaster and further wherein said surface is composed of airelatively flexible material, whereby the supporting surface accommodates itself more or less to the operators body and his move ments while on the coaster.

Yet another purpose of my invention is to provide certain details of construction and combination of parts well adapted to provide a neat, durable and wellanade article.

A still further purpose of my invention is to provide a coaster having a metallicframe and metallic corner pieces of such construction and combination that relatively large casters may be mounted .upon the frame without increasing the height of the coaster from the floor; and also to have the parts of the auto coaster so constructed that the ordinary and well-known forms of casters have that listeningthat sentienfa tened t ths wa t r wh n n made without adding materially to the worlr Jnesessary to assemble the coaster frame.

ners. Figs. 34") are drawn on alarger scale than Figs, 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings in a more, particular description, it will be seen that the coaster illustrated has a rectangular frame which is composed of two side pieces 7 and two end pieces preferably formed as shown of angle iron with the horizontal web of the angle toward the top. At each of the four corners the end of one, side piece 7 and of one end piece 8 is fitted to a corner piece 9. Each corner piece has a flat horizontal plate 10, substantially square. Its two outer adjacent edges are provided with downwardly extending flan es 11 and 12 connected at the outer. corner preferably by a rounding flange 13, which extends outward more than flanges 11 and 12 so asto provide shoulders 14 and 15 wherethe rounding flange 13 meetsthe straight flanges 11 and 12. The side angle piece 7 has its horizontal web rested flat upon the upper surface of the plate 10 of the corner piece, while the vertical web of the side piece is fitted against the shoulder 15. Similarly the horizontal web of the end pieces is rested flat upon the upper surface of the plate 10 and the end of the vertical web of the end angle piece bears against the shoulder 14. Preferably as indicated in Fig. l the corner piecei9 is raisedon its upper surface between the flange 13 and the adjacent edges ofthe horizontal web of the side and end pieces so as to have the corner rate-area rise. 11; the

piece on the same level as the upper surface of the side and end angle irons, and provide shoulders 16 and 17 on top of the corner piece against which may be fitted the ends of the horizontal webs of the end angle piece 8 and side angle piece 7. The end piece 8 is rigidly secured in position relative to the corner piece by two rivets 18 passing through the horizontal web of the said angularly-shaped end piece 8 and the plate 10 of the cornerpiecea Similarly the side angle piece 7 is rigidly secured to the corner piece by rivets 19 passing through the horizontal web of the side piece and the plate 10 of the corner piece.

7 It will be obvious from the construction of the corner joint above described that a smooth and very rigid corner is provided and that the weight carried by the frame is transmitted direct to the corner pieces and is not borne simply by the fastening members; similarly that strain inward upon the side and end pieces of the frame incident to the Way the fabric is supported therefrom. transmits no appreciable strain to said rivets or other fastening members. It will be understood that the vertical webs of the side pieces 7 and end pieces 8 are outside the corner piece and bear fiat upon the flanges 12 and 11 respectively.

Each corner piece 9 has on the two inner edges of the plate 10 projecting cars 20 and 21, provided with apertures therethrough 22 and 23 respectively for the purposes here' inafter mentioned.

The body-supportingsurface of the coaster is composed of a strip of strong flexible fabric 24- such as wire-link fabric of any desired form suitably secured to the frame. The preferred form, however, is to have said strip of link fabric 2% positively fastened to oneend of the coaster as by the ends of the links at that end being hooked through apertures 25 in the horizontal web of the end piece 8, while the other end is yieldingly connected to the other end piece 8 as bymeans of strong helical springs 26 connected at their inner ends to that end of the link fabric, while the other ends of the helical springs are hooked to the end piece 8 as by the hook on the helicals being inserted through apertures 27 on the end piece 8. In order, however, to prevent the helicals 26 from standing up too high as would be the case if the helicals rested on top of the plate 10 of the corner piece, the helical nearest the side piece 7 is hooked into the aperture 22 of ear 20 and the next helical is hooked into the aperture 23 of car 21. At the other end of the coaster the link of wire fabric nearest each corner is hooked into the aperture 22 of car 20, but the next inward link of the fabric may be hooked into its regular aperture 25, since the wire of said link fabric will. not extend above the rest of the links.

It will be seen that the use of this strong metallic fabric for the purpose of supporting the body of the workman is a gre: t advantage over the use of a rigid sheet of niaterial such as wood or metal. its the people using the repair coaster often have to be on their back or 011 their side upon the coaster for considerable periods at a time, anything conducing to the comfort of the person is an advantage.

Furthermore, the providing of yicldingly supported fabric is an advantage in providing the body a surface that is much more yielding and convenient for the user. Prel erably the strip of link fabric will be supported midway of its length by a cross member such as two loops 28 hooked into the opposite horizontal webs of the side pieces, the inner ends of said loops being connected by a helical sprin 29, which is so tensioncd as to aid in keeping the fabric thereabove level with the frame.

Each corner of the coaster is provided with a strong caster 30, preferably ball bearing, and secured to the coaster by ha viug the caster plate 31 fastened directly to the bottom surface of the plate 10 of the corner piece. These casters are con'nnonly stock or come in fixed sizes, with definite sizes of caster plate 31, with said caster plate perforated with holes 32 arranged toward the corner of the rectangular caster plate. Accordingly I have formed the specially made corner piece 9 to readily fit the caster plates by having the two pair of holes toward the outer edges of the plate portion 10, spaced apart the same distance as are the two holes upon either end of the caster plate. In this way the two rivets that go through the side piece 7 or the end piece 8 and through a corner piece may be utilized to go through one pair of end holes in the caster plate, no matter whether the caster plate is arranged crosswise or longitudinally of the coaster. The rivets passing through the two holes at the other end of the caster plate simply pass through the caster plate and one of the inn r edges of the corner plate 10. By having one of the inner edges of the plate 10 provided with two holes matching the inner pair of holes upon the caster plate and turning the caster plates two longitudinally and two crosswise, a single form of corner piece may be utilized for all four corners of the coaster instead of requiring as would otherwise be the case two or more specially formed corners, each adapted for only one or two positions.

\Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In an auto repair coaster, the combination oi a rectangular rigid frame composed of angle iron side pieces and end pieces and corner pieces against the outer edges of which bear the flanged side and end pieces, said corner pieces having a recessed portion on their lower face, casters mounted on the recessed portion of the bottom of said corner pieces, a supporting surface of flexible ma terial stretched on said frame and shoulders on said corner pieces against which it the extremities of said side and end pieces.

In Witness whereof I have aflixed my signature this 29th dav of February, 1916.

WILLIAM B. FOSTER.

tlepies cl? this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

